650 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 _ (ere. any. 17 
POTTERY 
CHARACTERISTICS—MORTUARY POTTERY 
The pottery exhumed from the burial places of Sikyatki falls in the 
divisions known as— 
1—Coiled and indented ware. 
11—Smooth undecorated ware. 
111—Polished decorated ware. 
a. Yellow. 
b. Ted. 
c. Black-and-white. 
By far the largest number of ancient pottery objects from this locality 
belong to the yellow-ware group in the above classification. This is the 
characteristic pottery of Tusayan, although coiled and indented ware 
is well represented in the collection. The few pieces of red ware are 
different from that found in the ruins of the Little Colorado, while the 
black-and-white pottery closely resembles the archaic ware of northern 
cliff houses. Although the Sikyatki pottery bears resemblance to that 
of Awatobi, it can be distinguished from it without difficulty. The 
paste of both is of the finest character and was most carefully prepared. 
Some of the ancient specimeus are much superior to those at present 
made, and are acknowledged by the finest potters of East Mesa to be 
beyond their power of ceramic production. The coloration is generally 
in red, brown, yellow, and black. Decorative treatment by spattering 
is common in the food basins, and this was no doubt performed, Chinese 
fashion, by means of the mouth. The same method is still employed by 
the Hopi priests in painting their masks. 
The Sikyatki collection of pottery shows little or no duplication in 
decorative design, and every ornamented food basin bears practically 
different symbols. The decoration of the food basins is mainly on 
the interior, but there is almost invariably a geometrical design of 
some kind on the outside, near the rim. The ladles, likewise, are orna- 
mented on their interior, and their handles aiso are generally deco- 
rated. When the specimens were removed from the graves their colors, 
as a rule, were apparently as well preserved as at the time of their 
burial; nor, indeed, do they appear to have faded since their deposit in 
the National Museum. 
The best examples of ceramic art from the graves of Sikyatki, in 
texture, finish, and decoration, are, in my judgment, superior to any 
pottery made by ancient or modern Indians north of Mexico. Indeed, 
in these respects the old Tusayan pottery will bear favorable compari- 
son even with Central American ware. It is far superior to the rude 
pottery of the eastern pueblos, and is also considerably better than that 
of the great villages of the Gila and Salado. Among the Hopi them- 
Selves the ceramic art has degenerated, as the few remaining potters 
